Drunk Dial
by graddd
Summary: Nothing worse than receiving a drunk dial from your boss. Kag/Sess
1. Chapter 1

Title: Drunk Dial

**Title: **Drunk Dial

**Author:** gradualwisd0m

**Summary:** Nothing is worse than receiving a drunk dial from your boss

**Genre:** Humor

**Rating:** Teen for suggested sexual content

**Word Count: **400-something I think

**AU/Canon:** AU

Prompt: Tequila Sunrise

"Mmmm," she moaned as she snuggled deeper under her covers, cuddling her fluffy pillow in her sleep. After two weeks for working 10 hour days at the office Kagome was happily looking forward to sleeping in Saturday morning until nearly noon. Her boss was running her ragged with his crazy requests and frequent firings of any assistant she had hired for him over the past month. Her brow wrinkled and all thought of his annoyingly deep voice swept from her mind to be replaced with beautiful thoughts of a week long vacation in Hawaii. Peacefully she drifted into a deep and reviving sleep.

Bzzzzzz, bzzzzzz, bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz, bzzzzzz, bzzzzzz.

Kagome's eyes remained closed as a hand reached out and groped around her bed table, searching blindly for the offending electronic device. Her fingers brushed against the vibrating item and curled around it, pressing a side button to silence the noise. Her thumb pried the phone open and brought it to her ear.

"Hullo?" she croaked in a disused voice.

"'Gome!!" a loud, deep voice joyously blared in her ear, overcompensating for the noise of the bar, club or rave the person was at. Kagome groaned.

"You gotta be kidding me," she groaned, pushing herself up to a sitting position as she leaned against her headboard. "Why are you calling me?"

"I'm glad you're awake, I didn't want to wake you. I have a very important decision to make and I need.. I need your input."

"What decision?" she asked while glancing at the clock. "Sesshomaru, it's 3:20 in the a.m. What in the world do you need to decide right now that you had to call me and wake me up? I'm sick of your incessant requests and whiney needs and now you're calling me on my days off?"

"Mmmm, you always were so very feisty." She rolled her eyes while brushing her fingers through her hair.

"Sesshomaru-sama, get to the point," she growled.

"Psshbbbpptt, no need for formalities, Kagome!" he slurred. She heard him talking to someone in the background to which a higher voice replied with raucous laughter. Kagome sighed. He was at a bar.

"What are you drinking?" she demanded.

"Drinking?" he hiccupped.

"Sesshomaru," she said sternly, "what are you drinking?"

"Hnmmnn, well, it started with a tequila sunrise and… and then now some delicious shots of tequila," he said. "Kagome… I want you to know," he slurred, "that I love you! You're the best secretary EVER," Sesshomaru blurted into the phone. Kagome cradled her face in her hand.

"Did you learn nothing from the holiday party last year? Don't drink tequila. Ever." She heard her boss start into a deep rendition of 'Ticks', a song he had learned during Karaoke after last year's holiday party. Her stoic boss tolerated country only when he was drinking. "Put your phone away, Sesshomaru, I'm coming to get you."

... to be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sesshomaru was quickly losing himself to an alcoholic stupor as he laid his phone and his face down on the cool and sticky bar. It wasn't often that he let loose but he surprised himself tonight be downing probably half a bottle of 1800 Tequila in consecutive shots. He was even more surprised when he pulled his phone out and drunk dialed Kagome. The memory swam through his muddled mind as his head lolled. He closed his eyes for what felt like a second before being shook awake.

"Sesshomaru, get up. I can't carry you; you'll have to walk." A warm hand grasped his wrist and brought his left arm up and over to rest across petite shoulders. Another lithe arm circled around his waist. Sesshomaru's head flopped to the left landing roughly against Kagome's shoulder. His hot breath ghosted against her neck. As he breathed in he could smell that she had taken a bath before going to bed and his mind melted further. His body leaned against hers and she almost dragged him out of the empty bar. One of the bouncers held the door open for her.

"Thanks," she mumbled in appreciation. _I'm much too old for this college-type shit,_ she thought to herself. She hadn't had to pick someone up from the bar and bring them home since Eri went out and got hammered after graduation. Eri was a handful enough but a full grown male demon? She might as well have been trying to carry a half-tranquilized wildebeest.

"Sesshomaru, you need to promise me you will not puke in my car," she said as she helped him stumble toward her parked car in the parking lot.

"Hnn?" he groaned, tilting his head sideways on her shoulder. His body had begun buzzing slightly as it started to filter the alcohol from his system.

"Promise me, damnit," she growled.

"I promise I will not _puke_ in your car," he said with disdain. When she approached, she leaned her left shoulder against the car while supporting his lanky weight against her side and hip while she unlocked and opened the door. Sesshomaru's mind quivered as his body pressed against hers. It took about 5 minutes but she finally had all of him in the car and belted in. She walked around to the driver's side door, slid in, and buckled her belt. She looked over at Sesshomaru before starting the car. His head was leaned back against the head rest, mouth cracked open slightly as he breathed loudly. She sighed as she started her car.

"I must be crazy to be doing this," she said out loud to herself before driving away to return Sesshomaru to his apartment.

**---000---**

Sesshomaru's fingers found the electric window button and pushed, making the car window slide down so that the night breeze could blow against his face. His head leaned against the door frame. His body buzzed with activity as his youki cleansed his body of the excess alcohol. Within 15-30 minutes he would be sober enough to walk on his own and hold an intelligent conversation.

Kagome pulled to a stop at a red light, her fingers tapping angrily against the steering wheel.

"Kagome," he said with his eyes closed, "I want to thank you for your patience with me tonight. I had not planned to become so inebriated." Kagome stared tiredly at her boss. Sesshomaru apologized for nothing. Why was he apologizing now? He turned his head toward her and opened his eyes slightly. She was sitting in her seat, hands on the steering wheel. She was wearing Hello Kitty sleep pants and a grey hooded sweatshirt that billowed around her body. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail. "I'm sorry," he said.

Kagome continued to stare until the blast of a car horn startled her. Too tired to flip off the guy behind her she pressed her foot against the gas pedal and drove the rest of the way in silence. Outside she was a rock but inside she was raving mad. _First he works me to exhaustion during the week and then he wakes me up in the middle of the night and I have to pick his drunken ass up from the bar! Not only that but he lives 20 miles out from the opposite side of the city as me! I'm never going to get to sleep now! Ugh!! He's such a jerk!_ Her foot pressed the gas further toward the floor, speeding her arrival to his house and lessening the amount of time she had to spend with him. _I don't get paid enough for this_ she thought.

By the time the car pulled up to his two story house with the single garage Kagome was seething with anger and Sesshomaru was calm and nearly sober. His eyes opened when the car stopped.

"We're here," she snapped bitterly. He looked sideways at her.

"You can stay in the guest bedroom if you like; I know that you live a ways away from here, Kagome," he offered in a strangely clear and crisp voice.

"Right, so you can bug me in person instead of calling me to wake me up? No thanks," she said before yawning deeply.

"C'mon," he said, motioning toward the house as he released his seatbelt and opened the car door. Kagome sighed and leaned forward resting her head against the cool steering wheel. Sleep would be _so_ nice right now.

"Do you promise to not bother me?" she called out.

"This Sesshomaru promises to be a courteous host," he said as he walked toward the front door, retrieving his keys from his pocket. _Wait, keys?_

"Sesshomaru, how did you get to the bar?" she asked in a confusion-colored voice. He smirked and snorted lightly before turning sideways to look at her.

"Inuyasha," he stated. Kagome rolled her eyes. Go figure he would take Sesshomaru out and leave him at the bar.


	3. Chapter 3

Yes, Sesshomaru is going to be out of character from what we remember on the manga and anime. I'm sorry if you want him to be some cold bastard but he's harder to work with when he hasn't "thawed" a little!

**Chapter 3**

The door snicked open and Sesshomaru walked into the living room area of his house. His keys jangled as they collided in a metallic thunk on the darkly varnished secretary by the door. Kagome followed him in. She knew she was somehow going to regret it but she was just too tired to drive back to her apartment. She was still in her pajamas anyway. Sesshomaru toed off his shoes and Kagome followed suit but bent over to arrange hers neatly side-by-side while he left his lying haphazardly on the rug. She grumbled and straightened his shoes next to hers.

He trudged up the carpeted stairs with heavy feet and when he came to the top she almost crashed right into him. He stopped at the top of the stairs and scratched his head.

"I believe the guest room is this way," he said with a weary voice before turning to his right. Kagome was flabbergasted.

"You don't know? We _are_ in _your_ house, right?" she complained tiredly while following him. He glanced back at her. He looked as tired as she felt.

"I do not have guests often." _Oh._ At the end of the short hall he opened a door to reveal a small room, probably 9 feet by 10 feet with a single bed, a desk with a chair, and a small bureau. The carpet was the same ivory color as the hallway but the walls were paneled with a dark grained wood from the floor to the middle of the wall. An intricately carved border halted the wood and the wall above it to the ceiling was painted a dark hunter green. The room gave a feeling of being in a forest or a cabin in the woods.

He stepped back from the doorway with his left arm extended, intending for her to take the signal to enter. She didn't move.

"Where's your room?" she asked. She wanted to be sure she was far away from him so he couldn't bother her. Her arms were crossed, her brow creased, and her eyes were trained on the closed door next to her room. Sesshomaru followed her line of vision and smirked.

"I didn't know you thought of me that way, Higurashi," he said with a smirk. _Here we go with the last name,_ she thought_._

"What?!"

"But I suppose if you'd rather adorn my bed with your beauty you are more than welcome to. However, _I_ intend to go to sleep. I don't know what you're thinking of doing," he said, smirking more and raising an eyebrow to irk her.

Kagome stared at him, her mouth parted slightly in astonishment. "Apparently you haven't sobered up much," she growled. "I wanted to know so I can avoid you."

Sesshomaru gave a feigned look of hurt then shrugged. "If you must know, my bedroom is at the other end of the hall." He motioned with his hand down the hall and her eyes followed to a slightly ajar door at the end. "This," he said, tapping a knuckle on the door she had been glaring at earlier, "is a closet and is not for sleeping though you can give it a try if you don't believe me."

Kagome sighed and turned into the room muttering "just go to bed, Sesshomaru-sama." He watched her flip the light off in the room and sit on the bed before flopping over to snuggle the pillow.

"Goodnight," he said before shuffling quietly to his own room to perform nearly the same action.

**---000---**

She was having the dream again. She had gone to the mall to go shopping and then forgotten where she parked. Her heart hammered in her chest as she searched the sea of vehicles, looking for her little black car. Every where she looked she thought she saw it but, whenever she would get close, it would turn out to not be hers. She started to cry; her car was something that she had accomplished on her own – picked it out herself and paid for it without help from anyone. As she walked down yet another row with her eyes darting back and forth she started to smell a sweet yet smoky scent. Thinking that it was one of the food venders she looked around to confirm her suspicion but couldn't find the cart. The smell got stronger and the dream faded away.

Kagome blinked her eyes a few times before rubbing them with her fingers. She reached for her cell phone that she had at some point in the night set on the desk. _10:03am. "_He let me sleep in," she whispered.

After a short stop in the bathroom to splash her face with some water and make a little sense of her hair, she padded down the stairs and followed the sound of hissing and sizzling accompanied by the gentle hum of an exhaust fan. She stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and leaned against the frame. She rubbed her eyes again.

Sesshomaru glanced back at her and turned back to the bacon and eggs he was preparing. "Coffee's over there," he pointed with his spatula. Her eyes followed the motion and saw two coffee mugs set out next to the full pot of coffee.

"Thanks." She poured herself a bit of coffee and paused before also filling the second mug. She cradled her mug between her hands and raised it to her face. She delicately sniffed the smooth aroma before taking an apprehensive sip, careful not to burn her lips or tongue.

"Mmmm, good stuff," she commented but his attention remained on the items cooking on the stove. It was odd to see her boss not wearing a suit or at least something business-like in terms of attire. He wore dark jeans and a tan t-shirt with a brown argyle pattern across it. She pulled a stool out from under the middle counter and sat down, her elbows on the counter while she cradled the mug in her hands. Her eyes wandered over the walls. They were painted a sage green and were adorned with what looked like copper fish figures. They looked like they were made of a very thin piece of copper that had been pounded out. Some were fat, some were thin but they all had a lovely set of scales that glinted slightly in the light as if some were Mother of Pearl. The copper provided a rustic contrast to the sage color of the walls. _*schlunk*_ A plate with 2 scrambled eggs and 2 slices of bacon was set in front of her along with a fork and a napkin. She looked up and saw that he was sitting on a stool opposite of her eating a very similar meal.

"Oh, thanks." She said timidly. They ate in silence for a while with the clinking of silverware and sipping of coffee being the only sounds sans the ticking of the clock on the wall. "Thank you for letting me sleep in," she said between bites of a piece of bacon.

He nodded and continued to eat. His eyes were focused on a far away point in front of him and she felt it best to not bother him. When she finished, she rinsed her plate and fork and set them both in the sink. She turned and felt awkward suddenly. Here she was, Sunday morning and standing in her boss's house in her pajamas. Not good. _Slave driver._

"Well, I think I'll head home now," she said. She walked out to the living room to slip her shoes on.

"Kagome," Sesshomaru called out from the kitchen.

"What?"

"Go ahead and take Monday off with pay," he replied.

"Are… are you sure?" she asked, looking up from tying her shoes.

"Yes," he said, coming to stand next to her. "You deserve it."

Kagome wasn't sure what to say. She straightened up all the way and looked at him. Except for the clothing he appeared to be the same Sesshomaru. "What was in that Tequila last night?"

He sighed slightly. "I've been meaning to give you a few days off. Last night made me realize how much you need a break from work sometimes."

_Especially from you,_ she thought. "Well, thank you. I accept your offer and you're not allowed to renege on it. You got that?" She crossed her arms and waited for him to acknowledge her.

"Yes. You have my word on it," he said. "Have a nice day off."

"Thank you," she said with a small smile then turned and walked out the door.

Sesshomaru pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial 4. He waited 3 rings before someone picked up.

"You survived. No, she stayed but nothing happened… I was _not _too drunk. I made us some breakfast and then she left… I gave her tomorrow off. She knows you're an accomplice so I suggest you watch your back. Yeah, see you tomorrow." Sesshomaru sighed, scratched the crown of his head, and decided he had better clean up the dishes before picking Rin up from her mother's house.

**************

I have dreams like Kagome's OFTEN. It's frustrating LOL. I realized I hadn't posted chapter 3 and I've had this for several months without doing anything with it. I'm thinking of continuing but need ideas.


	4. Chapter 4

We're going to back pedal a little bit this chapter and a little of the next. Yes, yes, the writing is somewhat sloppy. I'm just as disappointed as you are.

**Chapter 4**

"Hello?"

"_You survived."_

"Yeah, killer headache though. So did she drop you off at your place and then split?"

"_No, she stayed but nothing happened…"_

"I see… too drunk to get it up, huh?"

"_I was _not_too drunk."_

"Yeah, yeah. So then what happened this morning?"

"_I made us some breakfast and then she left… I gave her tomorrow off."_

"Booooring."

"_She knows you're an accomplice so I suggest you watch your back." _

"Aw man! Thanks a lot! At least she won't be at work when I come by in the afternoon tomorrow. I guess I'll see you then, Sesshomaru."

"_Yeah, see you tomorrow."_

Inuyasha tossed his phone aside and sighed. Trying to get his brother together with his secretary was going to be a full time job. Ever since Sesshomaru separated from his wife a year and a half ago he's been moping around like a grounded child. At work he turned hard and cold. The company couldn't keep a secretary on staff more than 5 hours before she ran or stomped out of the building with Sesshomaru-induced tears running down her face.

**A little History…**

Sesshomaru married at a young age to a girl he met while on vacation in Hawaii. Her name was Nina and they were deeply in love. Inuyasha remembered the wedding fondly as he and Kikyo were newly engaged and were looking forward to their own wedding. Six months later Sesshomaru announced that Nina was pregnant and 9 months later little Rin was born. She was the cutest baby around and Sesshomaru was incredibly proud of his daughter. After Rin's first year things began to fall apart between Sesshomaru and Nina. Nina fell into a deep post partum depression after Rin was born. Sesshomaru didn't quite understand how she could be so depressed when they had a beautiful new daughter to love and care for. He thought that perhaps Nina was jealous that he paid so much attention to their daughter. Slowly, they began to resent one another – Sesshomaru resented Nina because of her depression that he thought she was faking for attention and for the time she spent with Rin while he was at work. Nina resented Sesshomaru because he was able to leave to go to work on days where Rin was screaming her head off (which, in her opinion, was every day). After 3 years of marriage, they decided to separate. Rin spent her time split between staying with Nina and staying with Sesshomaru. Nina, for the sake of their daughter, settled down in Japan instead of going back to Hawaii. It would be difficult enough only seeing her daughter every other week but to have an infant travel that much was ridiculous.

So there Sesshomaru was, 1 ½ years post-separation and moping but not moping like most people. Sesshomaru moped by being fierce, angry, and cold. Frankly Inuyasha was sick of it. Right when he had gotten used to his brother lightening up and relaxing, he clammed up and turned a cold shoulder to everyone. He stopped caring for anything other than his business conquests in the board room. He worked 12-15 hour days and never took vacation days. It was time to bring some happiness back into his brother's life and Inuyasha knew just how to do it.

It took some crafty shuffling of certain staff but eventually Inuyasha hired Kagome to be Sesshomaru's secretary. She was a petite young woman who was smart, motivated, and wouldn't take crap from anyone (this Inuyasha knew since she was his wife's best friend). He had known Kagome for probably 5 years. When he started dating Kikyo he had to pass the "best friend test" as they called it. It was the roughest night out he had ever had but he passed. However, it was not without Kagome threatening to slice off his dick and feed it to a sewer rat should he _ever_ hurt 'her Kikyo'. Man, women could be scary! Either way, she had been looking for a new job and secretary was a position she was qualified to fulfill.

**(**flashback**)**

Knocking on the doorframe to Sesshomaru's office, Inuyasha cleared his throat and crossed the threshold with Kagome following him in. Sesshomaru glanced up as Inuyasha entered and stood near the corner of his desk.

"Good morning Inuyasha. What do you want?" he asked, his eyes flicking back to his computer monitor as he typed away at a report. Inuyasha simply stood in the same place but a smile melted onto his face.

"Well, I wanted to introduce a new staff member to you," he said cheerfully. Sesshomaru sighed and pulled his hands away from his keyboard to fold and rest them on his abdomen. He leaned back slightly in his chair. He expected to meet yet another analyst or another member for their research and development team. This one must be good since Inuyasha only introduced the 'big shots' to him when they were hired. When Inuyasha stepped aside, Sesshomaru blinked twice rapidly, his chair creaking ever so slightly as he leaned back a little.

Standing behind Inuyasha was a petite young woman with black hair and fair skin. She wore a grey tweed skirt and matching jacket over a maroon blouse. She bowed politely then extended her hand for him to shake.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Takeshi. My name is Kagome Higurashi." Being cordial, Sesshomaru stood and shook her hand.

"Likewise, Ms. Higurashi; welcome to the company. Which department will you be working in?" he asked. When she smiled and laughed softly, Sesshomaru turned his head to look at Inuyasha with a questioning stare.

"She's your new secretary, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha offered with a grin. Sesshomaru looked back and forth between the two.

"Hn. I didn't realize we were hiring for that position," he said while trying to hide his confusion. Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders.

"You spend way too much of your time typing up your reports and sending files so I hired Kagome here to help you out in that department," he explained. "Besides, the turnover of secretaries for you is ridiculously high so you're not allowed to fire Kagome; she's a friend of mine."

Sesshomaru almost rolled his eyes at Inuyasha. _It's not my fault they were all incompetent_ he thought to himself. Inuyasha looked back and forth between the two. Kagome politely kept her eyes lowered while Sesshomaru stared at her with a look of boredom.

"Your desk is outside the door. I expect these meeting minutes typed, collated, and distributed to the attendees," he said while handing her a thin stack of papers. "I have meetings at 10, 2, and 4 and I expect the minutes from those meetings typed, collated, and distributed to the attendees… before you leave today, Miss Higurashi," Sesshomaru stated as he sat back down and returned to his report. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha who huffed quietly and lead her out of the office, closing the door behind him.

"Well, he's friendly," she said while standing next to what was to become her desk. Inuyasha scratched behind his neck and shrugged.

"He's going through some tough shit right now, don't mind him. He can be kind of an asshole but don't worry. He can't fire you; only I can do that," he explained. Kagome gave him a pointed look and he continued quickly, "and Kikyo would kill me if I even tried to fire you so, again, don't worry. Just don't quit, alright?"

"Alright, if you say so," Kagome said with a sigh, "I better get to work on these minutes and get organized for the day."

**(**end Flashback**)**

Sesshomaru worked Kagome hard in the office. He gave ridiculous deadlines for documents, made her make copies of reports on five different types of paper, and demanded ludicrous items at the drop of a hat. A lot of the time she felt like she was Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada and Sesshomaru was Miranda Priestly. Just as beautiful but 10 times worse to work for.

Sure, she thought her boss was beautiful but that's about where it ends. His outside might have been model worthy but his insides were cold and hollow. She had heard from other employees in the building that he had been divorced for a year and a half and had a nearly 4 year old daughter but she never saw photos of the girl in his office. She felt sorry for the little girl. Her father was a workaholic who never took a vacation. She couldn't imagine if her own father had been like Sesshomaru – mean, cold, and waaaay too formal. The man needed to loosen up.

*****000*****

Inuyasha tapped his pen against the desk in front of him. Kagome had been working as Sesshomaru's secretary for a month before Inuyasha changed her job title to Administrative Assistant. She definitely deserved a more prominent title than secretary with the amount of work she handled not to mention a raise for dealing with him. Sesshomaru worked her ragged, sometimes insisting she come in on a Saturday to reorganize the files. But over the last 6 months Sesshomaru had at least stopped being such a hard ass in the board room and began to lighten up. He had even agreed to allow karaoke at this year's company Christmas party.

Kagome was excited for the Christmas party. She had the _pleasure_ of hand addressing all of the invites to the employees, scheduling the location, caterers, decorators, DJ, and cleanup crew. Honestly, she couldn't wait until the holidays were over so that she could get a break from all the running around Sesshomaru made her do for this god-forsaken party. She planned to get pretty drunk and enjoy herself.

*****Author Notes*****

(married January 2004. Rin conceived june 2004. Rin born march 2005. In 2006 Nina and Sesshomaru start to have problems – Rin is 1 yr old. In 2007 they separate and in 2008 their divorce is finalized. Story is in present time so Rin is almost 5 years old.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Kagome was excited for the Christmas party. She had the _pleasure_ (as Sesshomaru put it) of hand addressing all of the invites to the employees, scheduling the location, caterers, decorators, DJ, and cleanup crew. Honestly, she couldn't wait until the holidays were over so that she could get a break from all the running around she had to do for this god-forsaken party. She planned to get pretty drunk and enjoy herself.

**---000---**

The night of the company Christmas party, Kagome rushed around the room making last minute tweaks to the center pieces. Lights were strung across the white lattice pieces along the black walls. A large evergreen tree dominated the eastern corner of the ballroom, decorated with blue and white baubles. After fluffing one last centerpiece of fir sprigs & holly branches, Kagome sighed and stood. She smoothed her hands over the front of her black dress shirt. The karaoke DJ had finished setting up his equipment just moments ago and was presently hovering at the bar, chatting with Derek, one of the bartenders. She checked her watch, noting that it was nearly 8pm. _Well, let's get this party started_, she thought to herself.

Two hours later the ballroom was filled with company employees. Kagome was sitting at one of the tables, enjoying a glass of red wine with Inuyasha and her best friend Kikyo. After nearly 3 months of planning, the Christmas party (or "Holiday Party" as some people were insisting on calling it) had finally come to fruition. Kagome felt better knowing that the DJ, the catering, and the serving staff showed up without a hitch or issue. The hors devours were delicious, the DJ played tasteful yet current music, and the wait staff were polite and very helpful.

"Wow, Kagome, this is really nice," Inuyasha said as he leaned back in his chair, one arm resting on the back of Kikyo's chair while he held a glass of red wine in his other hand. Kagome smiled and took a sip from her glass.

"I agree, 'gome," Kikyo said as she glanced around, "everyone seems to be having a great time."

"Well, not everyone," Inuyasha huffed, nodding his head across the room. Kikyo and Kagome both turned to look where Inuyasha had motioned. Sitting near the front corner of the room opposite of the dance floor & DJ's set up sat Sesshomaru. He clearly looked uncomfortable, slouching only slightly with his arms crossed over his chest. If his face hadn't held a bored, disinterested look one might have thought he was lonely. They watched him for a little while, noting how he wasn't watching anyone or anything but more staring at the centerpiece on the table. A few candles had been scattered among the tables and one flickered in front of him, casting a dim glow across his face.

By now Kagome had gotten used to Sesshomaru's strange looks. When Kikyo had started dating Inuyasha she asked him many questions about being Hanyo and what different markings meant. She had met or seen several demons in her teen years & during college and had seen the myriad of markings and different hair & eye color pairings. Sesshomaru's markings were different though. Most demons she had met had either markings on their forehead or on their cheeks but Sesshomaru was the first she met that had markings in both places. Surely it must signify strength or power or prestige or something along those lines.

"He looks more despondent than usual," Kikyo murmured off handedly. Kagome nodded in agreement. She had noticed Sesshomaru was a more cold and distant than usual the past 3 days at work and wondered what had brought it on. Their current contracts were doing well in negotiations and their 3rd Quarter profits were looking very positive for an economy in a recession. Inuyasha glanced over at his brother and sighed.

"He found out that Nina's seeing someone."

"So? They're divorced; what's it to him if she's seeing someone?" Kikyo asked pitilessly. Inuyasha raised his eyebrows and continued explaining quietly.

"He didn't hear it from Nina, he heard it from Rin. She came home Monday and asked him if she would have two daddies now." Both Kagome and Kikyo cringed at the situation. Rin was Sesshomaru's pride and joy. To hear her say something about having two daddies must have torn him apart. Not only that but Nina was moving on with her life and Sesshomaru was still alone. Kagome's heart went out to her boss.

"Poor guy," Kagome said. "We should at least go sit with him. I think he's scaring everyone." Looking around, they noticed that the party goers were actively avoiding Sesshomaru, giving him a 2-table berth as they mingled and drank. Kagome pushed her chair back and stood, wine glass in hand and waited for Inuyasha & Kikyo to follow suit. Kikyo stood first, lightly tapping Inuyasha's arm.

"I'm gonna stop at the bar first, you two go ahead," he said, already making his way toward Derek at the bar. The two women casually made their way over to Sesshomaru's table. Kagome pulled out a chair next to him and sat down. He didn't look up when they sat down. Instead, he continued to stare blankly at the centerpiece. Kagome glanced at Kikyo who shrugged then cleared her throat.

"Kagome, you did a great job on the party. Everything looks great. Don't you agree, Sesshomaru?" Sesshomaru's eyes slanted right to Kikyo then left to Kagome.

"Hn. It is satisfactory" he murmured, his eyes going back to staring blankly at the centerpiece. His vision was obscured when an orange and ruby colored drink was set down in front of him with a thunk.

"Drink up, Sessh," Inuysha said as he himself settled into the chair left between Sesshomaru and Kikyo with an identical drink in hand. Sesshomaru stared at the glass for a moment before reaching for it. He brought the glass to his nose and took a light sniff of the concoction. It smelled sweet, fruity, and a little citric.

"What is it?"

"It's called a Tequila Sunrise," Inuyasha explained as he took a sip from his drink. "Try it, I think you'll like it. It's a little girly but it has tequila in it so it's okay." Sesshomaru shrugged and took a sip. He could taste the orange juice and sweet grenadine but there was an encompassing note of musky liquor throughout. Not typically a guy to drink 'fruity' drinks he figured it wasn't bad since the liquor content tasted pretty high. Besides, if he heard any of his employees talking of him drinking a girly drink he would fire them on the spot.

"Hn."

"See? I knew you'd like it," Inuyasha said as he resumed leaning back in his chair. The four of them sat together in relative silence, attempting to have small talk as time progressed. Inuyasha went to the bar and brought back three more Tequila Sunrises – one for himself and two for Sesshomaru at his quiet insistence. It was Inuyasha's further declaration that Sesshomaru needed to get drunk.

"Seriously though, it's the holidays. It's okay to loosen up. Besides, it's a Friday night and Rin's at her mom's an-." Inuyasha was cut off by a sharp kick to his shin. A pointed glare in his direction from Kikyo reminded him why they had moved to Sesshomaru's table in the first place. Inuyasha cleared his throat sheepishly & ducked his head slightly. Sesshomaru glanced sidelong at Inuyasha and brought his drink to his lips, gulping the contents down in one fluid motion. Kagome sat rigidly in her seat, waiting to see Inuyasha's head roll across the table after Sesshomaru relieved it from his body. However, no such thing happened. Instead, an empty glass was set on the table before the next full glass was consumed & set alongside its brethren. Sesshomaru slowly turned his head toward Inuyasha whose hair, it appeared, was starting to give off a slight halo-like shine.

"Since it is, as you say, the holidays, perhaps you should gift me with another drink or two, little brother. In fact, get the rest of the bottle of Tequila. That bartender doesn't quite mix them strong enough for my tastes." Inuyasha stared wide-eyed at his usually uptight brother before scrambling up from his chair and jogging over to the bar to get yet another Tequila Sunrise for Sesshomaru. Apparently tonight was about to get _really_ interesting!

**---000---**

I'm going to take my time with this and I'm sorry for that. I just can't write really long chapters.


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